This invention relates generally to gaming apparatus and, more particularly, to apparatus for dispensing game coupons used in a game of chance often known as "pull tab." A conventional pull-tab game is played in gaming establishments using a large number of cards or game tickets, which are dealt from a box upon payment of purchase price. Each game ticket bears a number of symbols or indicia, covered by a removable tab or a coating that can be scratched off. Some of the cards bear winning combinations of indicia, and these may be presented by the purchasers to redeem prizes.
Various attempts have been made to mechanize the pull-tab game, such that it can be played using an automated coupon dispensing machine. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,299 issued to Ronald C. Clapper, Jr. discloses and claims a machine of this general type.
A desirable attribute of such machines is that they should outwardly resemble gaming machines of the type known "slot machines," "slots," or "one-armed bandits." In using these conventional slot machines, a player deposits a coin or token and activates the machine, either by pulling a lever, in the case of an electromechanical machine, or simply pressing a button, in the case of a fully electronic machine. The machine presents the player with a matrix of symbols or indicia, which change rapidly for a few seconds after activation, and then presents a final display, which may contain a winning combination. The winning combination usually requires the horizontal or other alignment of symbols of the same type. When this happens, the machine "pays off" by automatically dispensing prize money in the form of coins, or by activating a winner light or audible signal. These gaming machines are, of course, extremely popular in casinos and other gaming establishments. However, in some jurisdictions, machines of this type are illegal, although pull-tab games are not. Therefore, there has been a movement toward pull-tab machines that have an appearance similar to the more popular slot machines. The machine disclosed in the Clapper, Jr. patent presents an electronic three-by-three matrix display of symbols similar to those used in conventional slot machines. However, the matrix display is not randomly generated when the machine is activated. Instead, the display is generated to duplicate the pattern on a pull-tab coupon that is dispensed from the machine each time it is played. The coupons in the Clapper, Jr. system are dispensed from a large roll of coupons stored inside the machine. The roll contains duplicate strips, one of which is retained in the machine for subsequent auditing purposes, and other of which is cut into dispensed coupons. On the back of one of the strips is a machine readable bar code indicating which symbols or indicia are on each coupon. Before the coupon is distributed to the player, the bar code is read by an optical scanner and the same symbols that appear on the coupon are displayed on the matrix display of the machine. Thus the machine retains some of the allure of a conventional slot machine, but still qualifies as a pull-tab game under regulations governing the use of gaming machines.
A potential drawback of gaming machines of the type that uses a roll of tickets to determine the result of each play, is that the machine is subject to tampering to predetermine the locations of the winning tickets on the roll. A gaming establishment owner or operator could scan a roll of tickets by machine, or even manually, without each ticket being cut and dispensed, and before the roll is installed for use by the public. The scanning step could be used to determine the sequence locations of the winning tickets. Then the owner or operator could use an accomplice to make the winning plays at appropriate times as the roll is being dispensed. Therefore, there is a need for an improved electronic pull-tab gaming machine that precludes unauthorized scanning or inspection of a ticket roll to determine the locations of the winning tickets. The present invention satisfies this need.